Hogsmeade
by A Shade of Grey
Summary: James and Lily go on their first date. [REWRITTEN]


_**Disclaimer:** J. K. Rowling owns it; I don't._

_**Summary:** James and Lily go on their first date._

_**Author's Note:** A few people requested that I write the about actual date that Lily and James went on, as a more immediate sequel to "Take a Hint" than "Clueless" was._

_I rewrote this. The first version was completely horrible, and it was bugging me all day. I really shouldn't have rewritten it, as I've got loads to do this week, but I hope you like it!_

**Hogsmeade**

James Potter was not used to this; he had never before worried over an approaching date. The thought of what would happen if he didn't make an amazing impression to Lily terrified him, causing him to spend the night before in sleepless worry. What if she decided not to show up? It was now thirty-seven seconds after the time they had agreed to meet. No! Thirty-eight! Thirty-nine! For—

"Hey, James," a soft voice said behind him, and James whipped around to see Lily in all her radiance. She looked so beautiful, he found that he couldn't scold her for being so late.

"You look…" James trailed off, and, much to James' surprise, Lily actually blushed.

"You, too," replied Lily. For a few moments, the two were silent. "So… Should we go?"

James nodded, and they started off. "I've got a question I've always wanted to ask you…"

"Yes?" Lily smiled widely, anticipating something very sweet and romantic.

"What's your quidditch team?" James asked eagerly. Lily's smile vanished, and she rolled her eyes; James didn't notice.

"I don't have one," Lily said, frowning.

"You don't? Why not?" Shock was etched on James' face. How could anyone _not_ have a quidditch team?

"I don't like quidditch much, to tell you the truth. It's far too complicated."

"It's not complicated at all! I'll explain it to you, and you'll see how simple it all is," James assured her.

"No, James—" Lily started, but James paid her no mind.

"You have four balls: the quaffle, the snitch, and two bludgers. The quaffle…" And he was off, explaining everything in hyper speed, his words jumbling together in his excitement. Lily understood none of it, but she humored James with the occasional "Oh" or "I get it now." It seemed this would be quite a long date…

"Look!" Lily announced, interrupting James' speech about quidditch. "We're… at Hogsmeade." She had been about to say "finally," but she thought James might not appreciate her use of it.

"Oh." James looked slightly disheartened, as he had just been at the pinnacle of his quidditch explanation: talking about all seven hundred ways to commit a foul. "We're right by the Shrieking Shack, how about we go there? I love the Shrieking Shack."

Lily shrugged, simply glad for an opportunity to change the subject. "Have you started you Transfiguration essay?" Inwardly, Lily cringed; she hadn't meant to bring up school, but it was the first topic that came to mind.

"Yeah right!" James laughed, failing to notice as Lily pursed her lips. She wasn't amused. Not at all.

"You should complete your homework when you have the time, and not in the twenty minutes before class starts," Lily scolded him.

"Why? I get _O_'s either way, so why bother with the extra work?" A scowl crossed Lily's face, for she knew it was true, and it wasn't fair at all. She would had to do so much more work to get the same grade.

"You won't be able to float you way through life forever, James," Lily warned him, but she secretly thought different. James may have lacked severely in common sense, but he was uncommonly clever in school without having to try, and he would always succeed at whatever he tried.

James merely shrugged in response. "Well, here we are…" Somehow, the Shrieking Shack wasn't as exciting as he thought it would be, now that they had reached it.

"Mmhmm…"

"Haunted buildings are great… I love visiting them…" James said slowly, trying to think of what else to say.

"Me, too…" Lily agreed, and the two fell silent.

"Have you heard the stories about it?" James asked, feeling rather stupid.

"Of course," Lily answered. "But we already went over this topic before…"

"I know, I just love the Shrieking Shack."

"So I've heard," Lily told him, but a small smile crossed her face.

"I just… People are so afraid it, especially the third years," James explained, feeling the need to say something new.

"You shouldn't make fun of the third years, they're still new to Hogsmeade. The Shrieking Shack is enough to scare grown witches and wizards. I used to be afraid of it, too," said Lily, looking at James with disapproval.

"You were? Seriously?" James asked, disbelief evident on his face.

"What's wrong with that? I'm not afraid the Shrieking Shack anymore."

"You don't have to be," James assured her, as though she was, in fact, terrified of the Shrieking Shack. "I'll protect you."

"How very noble of you," Lily commented sarcastically.

"Oh, it's nothing." James waved his hand as though brush all her worries away; Lily rolled her eyes. "So, where do you want to go next?" he asked, clearly wanting to get her away from the place he believed she was frightened of. It was the thought that counted, Lily told herself, trying to fight the urge to scream at James.

"How about Madam Puddifoot's?" Lily suggested, sounding hopeful. A romantic lunch was just what she needed right now.

"Madam Puddifoot's? Why would you want to go there?" James frowned in the general direction of the shop.

"A lot of couples go there," Lily said defensively. "She serves great tea."

"But it's so… girly there." Lily's eyes narrowed at his use of "girly," but James failed to notice. "And I can't imagine the tea is as good as Madam Rosmerta's butterbeer."

"What do you mean by 'girly?'" Lily asked dangerously.

"All lacey, and… pink… and… you know?"

That was his opinion of girls? Was he serious? "No," Lily said shortly, "I don't know."

James shrugged nervously, looking around, yet again, for a change of topic. "How about we go to the Three Broomsticks?"

Lily seemed to struggle with herself for a moment, no doubt wanting to argue further about James' use of "girly," but she contained herself and answered with forced pleasantness, "Sure." They walked in silence—neither wanted to be the one to break the awkward silence—until they reached the Three Broomsticks. James held the door open for Lily, and she gave him a thankful smile; his gesture reminded her that he could be sweet, if he tried to.

"I'll get the butterbeers," James offered, and Lily reached for her pocket to get some money. "Don't worry about that, Lils. I'll pay." She let the nickname pass without comment, for she rather liked the way it sounded coming from James' mouth. She had been starting to think the date a waste of time, but he was starting to change her opinion of him. He somehow always managed to win her back over after driving her away—or at least, he had been able to this year.

James returned with two steaming mugs of butterbeer, and Lily had to admit that he had made a good point before; this was much better than tea at Madam Puddifoot's. "So, James… What do you think you want to chose for a career?"

"I honestly have no idea," James replied, looking thoughtful. "Maybe an Auror… I _hate_ the Dark Arts more than anything in the world."

"Me, too," Lily agreed. "I think you'd make a wonderful Auror, James. But what about your dream of playing for a professional quidditch team?"

"Er, I like quidditch a lot, but with the war going on, there's so many more important things to focus on," James told her, looking sheepish.

"I know that it's no secret that I don't like quidditch, but I think you're making an excellent choice by giving it up."

"Why don't you like it?" James asked her. "And be honest."

"You promise not to laugh at me?" Lily looked down at the table shyly, and James wondered why such a brave girl was now so embarrassed.

"I would never laugh at you," James assured her. "I promise."

"Okay..." Lily took a deep breath. "I'm afraid of flying."

"Oh, that's not so bad," said James with an encouraging smile. "I can imagine it'd be terrifying for someone who hasn't practically grown up on a broomstick. It's not something you can learn in a textbook."

"Exactly." Lily looked surprised, but very pleased, at his insightfulness. "Why doesn't it sound stupid when I tell this to you? I've never told anyone else because I'd feel foolish doing so, but I had no trouble telling you..."

"Because we're made to be together," James said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Maybe we are." Lily looked thoughtfully at James and smiled. "Or maybe you've made yourself into such a fool in front of me, I don't have to worry at all about how I come off as to you."

"Maybe," James laughed. "Now, what do you want to be after school?"

"Either an Auror or a Healer," Lily told him. "I haven't decided which yet, so I had to take all the classes that applied to both."

"You'd make an amazing Healer."

"And not an Auror?" Lily asked playfully, pretending to look hurt.

"No, I didn't mean that!" James exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "It's just that an Auror has such a dangerous job..."

"One I couldn't handle?" Now she really was feeling hurt.

"No! It's not that! It's just..." James thought for a few seconds before saying, "I could never survive if something happened to you."

"James, you'd survive just fine."

"No, Lily," said James, "I wouldn't. I know, I know, you don't believe me yet, but I love you. I haven't been chasing you for seven years on a passing fancy."

"Technically, it's only been six years," Lily pointed out, trying to lighten the suddenly serious mood. She wasn't sure if she was ready for such commitment yet; it was only their first date. She liked him immensely, but loved...

"Lily, you know what I mean."

"I know," Lily said with a sigh. "It's lucky for you, then, that I'm leaning towards being a Healer. The works required for that is two years of training after school, and it's far less selective. Oh, and I like the idea of healing someone more than hurting them. But everytime I lean towards being a Healer, I think about all those innocent people who die because of the Dark Arts, and I think that I should become an Auror to fight those horrible witches and wizards who use them. I hate the Dark Arts so much, James, just like you do..."

"How did we get onto such a serious topic on our first date? This material should be saved for the fourth or fifth date, at least," James said jokingly, succeeding in lightening the mood where Lily had failed.

"What makes you so sure we'll have a fourth or a fifth date?" Lily challenged teasingly. "How do you know I'll want to date you after this?"

"Because I'm so incredibly attractive, and you dream about me and my sheer amazingness all the time," James replied, grinning.

"Amazingness? I didn't know that word existed. And as for you qualities, you forget the best one: your modesty."

"Of course! How could I be so stupid?" Lily let out a laugh, but James once again had a serious looked on his face. "Do you really want to date me, Lily?"

"Of course." A mischievious look crossed Lily's face, and she wondered if he need more reassurance of her affection. "I'd love to date you," she whispered, leaning across the table. "In fact, I can't think of anyone I'd rather date more." Closing the distance between the two, Lily kissed him lightly on the lips.


End file.
